Francesca May: This Vicious Hunger

Thursday 13 November, 6:00pm, Waterstones Derby DE1 1SR

Francesca’s second fantasy novel has been described as ‘a queer fairy tale of toxic romance that echoes with longing', featuring intoxication, obsession and a desperate hunger for knowledge, whatever the cost.

Thora Grieve finds herself destitute and an outcast after the sudden death of her husband, but a glimmer of hope arrives when a family friend offers her the chance to study botany under a famed professor. Once at the university, Thora becomes entranced by a mysterious young woman, Olea, who emerges each night to tend to the plants in the private garden below her window.

Hungry for connection, Thora befriends Olea through the garden gate and their relationship quickly and intensely blossoms. Intoxicated, Thora throws herself into finding a cure for Olea's ailment and sinks deeper into a world of beauty, poison and obsession. She's finally found the freedom to pursue her darkest desires, but will it be worth the price?

'This Vicious Hunger will consume you like a sweet poison. May deftly unfurls the dark, dangerous underbelly of science, obsession and desire through the lens of three morally grey women that will keep you turning the pages long into the night.'  Maddie Martinez, author of The Maiden and Her Monster

'A queer fairy tale of toxic romance that echoes with longing.'   Tanya Pell, author of Her Wicked Roots